Takedown: Red Sabre

First off, the team at Serellan would like to send Holiday wishes to you and your family! The team has continued to work on the game, and are readying both the Xbox build, and the next PC update, which will contain a batch of FREE DLC as a thanks for supporting the game and sticking with us over the past few months. This content is still in QA testing, and is targeted for release after the holidays, but we wanted to give you a sneak peak right now!

DLC

In addition to same game feature updates which I will detail when they are released, we have another batch of free content for you to check out:

The hold is a large, interior storage area of a cargo ship. The map itself is extremely large, and features a combination of CQB areas such as stairwells, and long range combat across the vast hold areas. For Tango Hunt, Bomb Disarm, and Attack/Defend, the full map is utilized, and there are a variety of Firefight variants for TDM and LMS.

Map Relight: Radar Storm

Radar Storm changes the feel and dynamics of Radar Station from bright and clear to stormy and foggy. This changes the dynamic of the long range gameplay, making moving between lit areas of the map more of a strategic decision. This map supports Tango Hunt, Bomb Disarm, and all Versus game modes, and also includes the Radar Station Firefight variants.

New Firefight Variants: Radar Station

Two new Firefight variants for Radar Storm, Quad and Outside, change the gameplay dynamic of Radar Station. Quad shrinks the map to the Northeast quadrant, providing faster and more direct combat, while Outside locks off the interiors, enforcing sniper gameplay. These Firefight variants are available for Radar Storm as well.

New Weapon Set: The AG-A3

The AG-A3 is an Austrian designed bullpup rifle. Included are the standard 5.56mm Carbine, the 9mm Para SMG, and the long-barrelled semi-auto DMR. The AG series provides a weapon platform that is shorter, but with increased accuracy than standard carbines. Downsides are a slightly increased level of felt recoil compared to their more traditional brethren. The A3 version includes a manual bolt release, which removes the requirement to work the non-articulating bolt handle when reloading, decreasing reload times.

MOD TOOLS

The mod tools have taken longer to release than we planned, as our team has been focused on fixes and updates. We plan to release the mod tools, along with the Killhouse construction set, alongside the next PC update.

XBOX

We have completed integrating the DLC into the Xbox build, as well as integrating better look control into the 360 controller (this will be added to PC in the next PC update). We are in the process of submitting the build to Microsoft for final certification. As soon as we have a firm release date from Microsoft, I will post another update.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS IN 2013!

Thanks again for your support, the team has been working hard over the past months to support the game with updates, new content, and the Xbox version. We are excited to play with you in 2014!

New Map: Killhouse BreachKillhouse Breach is a new Killhouse variant, designed around the Attack/Defend game mode, with two opposite bases, a central CQB area, LOTS of doors, and the largest gameplay space in Killhouse yet. While some long-range combat can occur, the tight spaces and plentiful cover encourages sudden, close range games. While designed primarily for Attack/Defend, it is a generally symmetrical map for TDM, LMS, and is also supported in Tango Hunt and Bomb disarm in Single Player and Co-Op.

Available Game Modes:

Bomb Disarm

Tango Hunt

Attack/Defend (2 variants)

LMS

TDM

New Map Relight: Cargo DayCargo Day is a relight for the Cargo Ship map, setting it in a bright afternoon setting. This fundamentally changes the core gameplay on the Cargo map, because long sight lines and bright colors offer a dramatic difference from the dark alleys of Cargo Ship. This map is available in Single Player, Co-Op, and Versus, and also includes the appropriate “Firefight” maps created for the main Cargo Ship.

Available Game Modes:

Bomb Disarm

Tango Hunt

Attack/Defend (2 variants)

LMS

TDM

New Features:

Steam VOIP:

Can be enabled/disabled in Options/Audio

Mute players enabled in Lobby

Squad AI Updates:Squad AI Behavior and Commands:

Squad AI targeting has been revamped, and will now prioritize engaging targets over moving

When given the Cover Direction command, they will focus their fields of fire in the direction the player is facing when the order is given, and use appropriate cover if nearby.New AI Command List toggled with the Z key.

Cover Direction

Fall In

ROE Aggressive

ROE Defensive

Tweaked Player AI listening so they are less responsive to random noises. They should still respond to alarming or loud noises.

AI will only crouch walk if player is crouched and ROE is Passive.

AI will now stand if in cover that only allows lean right/left actions.

Move/Follow command clears the player ai’s targeted enemy list, which should allow them to move more promptly after losing LOS to target.

Prevent ‘crouch-stand-crouch-stand’ behavior when in combat. AI now tracks whether or not it has already stood-up from cover and won’t do it at the same cover point twice.

Reduced AI delay before turning to final direction after moving.

Enemy AI Updates:

Enemy AI now less likely to retreat on first contact, tactics revamp when LOS is lost to target

We are continuing to review issues as they're reported in the forums, social media, and the technical support channels. For all of the outstanding support, patience, and meticulous reproduction steps provided by you all, we continue to be especially grateful. This information has been crucial in helping us identify and implement fixes quickly.

You will no longer be required to be logged into Steam to save your Loadout settings

Fixed insertion point selection when not logged into Steam

When playing against someone who has not yet installed a patch (or if you haven't installed the latest available patch yourself), you should now have a more accurate message (instead of referencing a "downloadable content" mismatch)

Steam language selection should now function correctly

Removed Router message when unable to locate server

Player Servers now correctly display numbers of players in games

Gameplay Updates & Bug Fixes

Fix for camera collision in spectate mode in certain areas related to relative Z position of map

Many doors have been closed in various locations

Players joining a co-op mission in progress (after 1 minute) will be set to spectate

Named Loadouts “Recon, Assault, Breach, Sniper”

Provided a suppressor to Squad Mate Charlie

Team AI accuracy and response time increased

Increased Grenade Damage Range

Added audio indicators (beeps) to bombs in Att/Def to more easily locate them

Modify Loadouts button changed to “Save Loadouts”

UI no longer shows incorrect player counts in Last Man Standing

In Radar Base in Last Man Standing game mode, missing doors have been fixed

We are continuing to review issues as they are reported in the forums, social media, and the technical support channels. For all of the outstanding support, patience, and meticulous reproduction steps provided by you all, we are especially grateful. This information has been crucial in helping us identify and implement fixes quickly.

Below is a list of our anticipated fixes in the upcoming patch.

Steam/UE3 Authentication Updates to improve connectivity

You will no longer required to be logged into Steam to save your profile settings

Provided a suppressor to Squad Mate #3 - based on forum feedback

When playing against someone who has not yet installed a patch (or if you haven't installed the latest available patch yourself), you should now have a more accurate message (instead of referencing a "downloadable content" mismatch)

Many doors have been closed in various locations - based on forum feedback

HQ Alley: host should no longer spawn next to the Defender

UI will no longer show incorrect player counts in Last Man Standing

In Radar Base in Last Man Standing game mode, missing doors have been fixed

8. Single Player extraction zones increased and should now properly complete while playing with Squad AI.

9. All HQ extraction zones near all gates properly function.

There are still issues outstanding that we want to address, and some of the more critical issues require more time to implement. As a part of what we call the Triage process, we take into consideration several factors when determining which fix to adopt:● Ease of fix● Impact of fix on other areas● Length of time to implement● Severity of the issue● Etc.This process guides decisions on which fixes get adopted now and which ones get adopted later.

With this in mind, in order to help in our Triage process, we are extracting as much information as we can from the Steam & Serellan forums - so please continue to discuss what problems you are running into in these locations. We also offer lots of support on our forums (in addition to the Steam forum here), as well: www.serellan.com/forums.

8. Single Player extraction zones increased and should now properly complete while playing with Squad AI.

9. All HQ extraction zones near all gates properly function.

There are still issues outstanding that we want to address, and some of the more critical issues require more time to implement. As a part of what we call the Triage process, we take into consideration several factors when determining which fix to adopt:● Ease of fix● Impact of fix on other areas● Length of time to implement● Severity of the issue● Etc.This process guides decisions on which fixes get adopted now and which ones get adopted later.

With this in mind, in order to help in our Triage process, we are extracting as much information as we can from the Steam & Serellan forums - so please continue to discuss what problems you are running into in these locations. We also offer lots of support on our forums (in addition to the Steam forum here), as well: www.serellan.com/forums.

Thanks for your support of TAKEDOWN: Red Sabre and our first gameplay patch. Please see the following for the first hotfix update:

Fix List:

Steam client launcher [PLAY] button will now launch a batch file that properly loads the 32bit or 64bit version of the game based on the player's Windows operating system. This should fix many connection issues.

Added Steam Server list support. To view in Steam, Click View (from the top) > Servers > CHANGE FILTERS: Takedown Red Sabre. Note: we are currently working on a subsequent patch to even further increase the accuracy of the server information shown.

Fixed certain player audio input from not being heard by enemy AI, causing unresponsiveness.

TTS (Text-To-Speech) feature has been disabled due to player abuse.

Also in regard to the pre-order offer, it seems that folks who pre-ordered by third party are having difficulty seeing the unlocked Killhouse content. We are working through this issue with Valve and should hopefully have a solution shortly. If you have a pre-order code and have entered it, please follow this process to access your unlocked content.